The Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media Print, AbdulAziz AbdulAziz, has launched a scathing rebuttal against former Jigawa State Governor Alhaji Sule Lamido, accusing him of betraying the legacy of the June 12, 1993, election annulment and engaging in revisionist history.
The controversy stems from Lamido’s recent interview on Arise Television, where he alleged that President Tinubu was a key supporter of the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida, responsible for annulling the June 12 presidential election, and only rose to prominence after General Sani Abacha took over power.
Lamido claimed, “Tinubu became relevant and noticeable after Abacha took over the government. He was part of those who supported Babangida’s annulment of June 12. His own mother, Hajiya Mogaji from Lagos, organised the Lagos market women to Abuja to support Babangida.”
Responding via his verified Facebook page, AbdulAziz dismissed Lamido’s assertions as “revisionist and unfounded,” accusing him of having remained silent during the critical period as National Secretary of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) — the party that was directly affected by the annulment.
“When I watched HE Sule Lamido’s revisionist claims on Arise TV yesterday morning, what came to my mind was Mahmud Jega’s 2011 piece, ‘Why is This Man Bragging?’” AbdulAziz wrote, referring to a journalistic account of an interview shortly after the annulment, in which Lamido reportedly failed to condemn the military’s actions despite his leadership role in the SDP.
AbdulAziz recalled, “Jega travelled to Kano to interview Lamido on the party’s reaction to the annulment… The journalist did all he could to get Sule Lamido to condemn or at least give a strong reaction to the military’s annulment… Lamido refused. It was a cat and mouse chase that produced nothing. Jega titled his piece ‘Stonewalled Sule.’”
He questioned Lamido’s current outspokenness, saying, “It’s surprising a National Secretary who couldn’t stand for his own party when it mattered would now have the mouth to talk and throw accusations.”
AbdulAziz urged Nigerians to consult credible historical records and testimonies from those directly involved in the pro-democracy struggle, pointing to interviews with President Tinubu’s son, Jamiu Abiola, and former media aide Dele Alake as more accurate reflections of Tinubu’s role.
“For Tinubu’s involvement with Abiola and the June 12 struggle, watch his son Jamiu Abiola’s interview on Channels TV as part of the channel’s town hall on June 12, 2025. Also, Dele Alake’s deeply intimate account from last night on Arise TV,” AbdulAziz advised.
He concluded with a sharp rebuke directed at Lamido: “Those who lacked the courage to resist military tyranny when it mattered most should not rewrite history to suit present grudges.”
The exchange underscores the lingering tensions around the political legacy of June 12 and the competing narratives shaping Nigeria’s contemporary political discourse.
